If the splitter says DC PASS on one of its outputs you can put the power injector below it on that line. :) Most splitters do not have DC PASS so make sure of it.

Don't worry about the length of coax needing to be the same - it doesn't. Cut it as short as you can. If the cheapie amp can be returned for a full refund then there's no harm in trying it.

it says power pass on the slitter it was a 8 dollar one , not a crappy dollar store one.

Then you're okay to put the power injector where you like. :)

ok so it,s best to do it before it hits the splitter , thanks but after a split 1 cable run will be 50 feet to a t.v after the splitter , should I also use a 50 foot rg6 cable for my other TV to even it out?
The 100' of coax is a non-issue for a pre-amp with that kind of power output. No worries there.

But.. what I would worry a LOT about, is frying a TV set due to improper location of the power injector. The power injector not only inserts power for the pre-amp, it also blocks that same power in the other direction.

Put it between the antenna and the splitter -- anywhere in that chain is just fine. But if you place it after the splitter, there's a chance of frying your VCR, TV, or other stuff.

Cheers

Here's what I did. Amplified antenna on roof with 50ft RG6 into the basement. Power injector located there. From that point RG6 to very low noise broadband distribution amp. This splits the signal 4 ways and boosts 8db on each port. After that various runs RG6 25 to 50 ft. to different points in the house. I use low loss splitters the 2.4 GHz ones 2 way or 3 way. No loss in signals or channels in any room.

Thanks mlord I will do your method between the pre amp and splitter so I dont fry anything and even out signal stregth.

But.. what I would worry a LOT about, is frying a TV set due to improper location of the power injector. The power injector not only inserts power for the pre-amp, it also blocks that same power in the other direction.

Put it between the antenna and the splitter -- anywhere in that chain is just fine. But if you place it after the splitter, there's a chance of frying your VCR, TV, or other stuff.

I understand what you are saying, but feel the risk of this is very low. By their very nature, splitters block DC power. That is why you need one with DC pass through. This DC pass through is only on one port and the DC is blocked on all other ports. I guess some sort of catastrophic failure could cause the splitter to pass power to all ports, but the same thing could happen to the power injector.

I'm not quite so trusting in far-east manufacturers to get the splitter labelling accurate every time.

Cheers

I have read somewhere that some people had better performance using two baluns out of an antenna and running two separate lines than using a splitter.

that is equivalent to ganging two virtual identical antenna right?

is that true? anyone has experimented with this? I am tempted to try it out for myself

My home has rg6 coaxial cable that goes to numerous rooms and converge in the basement (5 separate cables in total). From the basement it does not go to the main floor. The main floor cabling comes directly from the outside where there is a world/international satellite and normal satellites. The normal satellites also go the basement where the coaxial cables converge.

I have a UHF antenna that I would like installed but to bring the signal in from existing cables. Is it possible for the uhf signal to be diplexed onto the satellite cable (with minimal loss) and then the signal to be sent throughout the house using the 5 cables that converge in the basement (again with minimal loss).

Chadb

see my post #426 for a-up basic set. Maybe you can find a way to provide SAT+UHF feed to multiple lines

I built a 10-element yagi for VHF 13. The signal is very marginal and I want to experiment with twinleads instead of balun+75ohm coax to see if reception is better.

Presently, the feed point of the yagi has a cheap balun + 75Ohm coax connected to the VHF input of the CM7777 preamp. The UHF input of the preamp is connected to a DBGH antenna.

As a first step, I want to feed directly the Yagi to the TV without the preamp. My question is after I connect the twinlead directly to the Yagi feedpoints and running the cable to the TV, how do I feed the signal to my TV ? my TV RF input is a coax connector. Do I need a balun at the TV RF input or can I just feed the Coax connector with twinleads?

As a second step, I want to include the CM7777 preamp. Same problem here: the CM7777 preamp only have coax connectors. Any advice please.

thanks

The feed points are 300 ohm. Your TV's input is 75 ohm. Its not just a matter of the impedance: you have no choice but to use a balun (balanced 300 ohm to unbalanced 75 ohm).

An option to consider is a Channel Master 0264 preamp, which takes 300ohm twinlead input right at the antenna and outputs 75 ohm coax.

Hi Folks..I'm a newbie so be kind.
I just built a coat hanger antenna for HDTV in the Ottawa area and the results are pretty darn good. I would also like to get CTV and Global, but these are analog. The rabbit ears does a liveable job on these stations.
questions:
1. is there a gizmo that can combine the outputs of both antennas into the TV? (DIY is best)
2. Is there a better DIY choice of antenna to get acceptable results from the VHF band (2-13) as well as digital.

Thanks ever so much!
Jimmy

use a uhf/vhf splitter backwards

I think what you are trying to do is combine the VHF signal from the rabbit ears and the UHF signal, where most digital channels are, from the coat hanger. A uhf/vhf splitter backwards will work, but will result in about 3.5 dB of insertion loss.

A better solution would be a Pico Macom UVSJ UHF/VHF Band Separator/Combiner which has only 0.5 dB of insertion loss (cost is about $3).

You might want to check out the DIY forum on SBGH and DBGH. Both are UHF only antennas, but some work has been done on modifying a SBGH to receive high VHF (7-13). Receiving channels 2-6 with a DIY will be a problem.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=98619

Alternately, you could buy or build a 4-bay or SBGH and use the Pico Macom UVSJ UHF/VHF Band Separator/Combiner in combination with rabbit ears. Attach the rabbit ears to the UHF antenna and combine the signal with the UVSJ.

Does a diplexer have the same insertion loss that a splitter has?

I'm looking to use a Terk 44 with my dish system, but was wondering just how far "after" the diplexer " I can run the R6 cable. All the diagrams, (not to mention the included cables), all show very short runs, and I want to run a cable from the diplexer installation in one room to another, about 15' or so. The Sat feed goes upstairs, and I want to bring the OTA feed downstairs. I can't add it to my downstairs Sat line since it would be a DPP plus Twin, and I can't add a diplexer to that line, so I'm trying to get away with using the line to my legacy 6000 ird. Anyone see a problem with this setup??? I have to decide still whether to go with the DPP plus twin, or use a Quad which I know the Terk 44 works with, but would need to add another Sat feed. Thanks!!
So as not to go off topic in this forum, I've also started a simular post to answer questions on the Dish hardware side of things

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=867878#post867878

Does a diplexer have the same insertion loss that a splitter has?
Trick question, that. The answer is "yes", but in either case the insertion loss is only about 0.5dB or less.

But a splitter will also split the signal into two equal halves, each of which is (by definition) 3dB weaker than the original signal. A diplexer doesn't split it, so the output is still the full original signal (minus the 0.5dB insertion loss).

Thanks mlord that's exactly what I wanted to know. I used a splitter before my tv to connect fm to my receiver and now I know I need to get a diplexer to reduce the loss to the tv. Is there a specific one I need or will anyone do? I've seen an RCA diplexer at Home Depot for sat and tv but I think it was more than $25. Seems expensive.